Restoring the Gulf of Mexico
Audubon's comprehensive plan to build a resilient Gulf Coast for birds and people.
Audubon's comprehensive plan to build a resilient Gulf Coast for birds and people.
Photo: Mac Stone
The Gulf of Mexico is one of America’s great ecological treasures. The region is home to a vast array of bird species and other wildlife, including 11 of Audubon’s flagship species as well as six Audubon priority species. These species use the Gulf at some point during their life cycles – for breeding, overwintering or as a migratory stopover. These species represent at least 300 other species and the ecosystem on which they depend.
Audubon is committed to restoring the Gulf of Mexico by focusing on priority habitats for these and other species, from Texas to Florida. The challenges facing the wildlife and human communities in the Gulf have been, and will continue to be, significant. For that reason, Audubon’s vision is multi-layered and involves working over many years to monitor the health of populations of our flagship and priority species in the aftermath of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
We will continue to develop and support conservation plans that strategically benefit these species and the habitats they need, advocate for the timely implementation of large-scale, science-based coastal restoration and conservation projects, and engage volunteers and communities to protect and steward bird populations across the Gulf.
Funds from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill are flowing into the state, financing unprecedented restoration work along its beleaguered coast—just in the nick of time.
Six years after the BP oil spill, a new plan outlines how billions of dollars dedicated to Gulf Coast restoration will go where it’s needed most.
The devastation to human communities is overwhelming, but the story for birds is more complex.
Through sound science, policy leadership, and habitat conservation and restoration, Audubon and our partners are protecting and revitalizing ecosystems battered by man-made and natural disasters and advancing measures to protect birds in the face of overdevelopment, extreme weather events, sea level rise, and other climate change impacts. Now, with unprecedented funding available for Gulf restoration and a greater need for effective conservation, we’re implementing four strategies to protect, enhance, and rebuild habitat:
Audubon scientists identified over 8 million acres of suitable habitat for priority bird species across the Gulf that should be prioritized for restoration and conservation. These habitats include barrier and bay islands, headland beaches, intertidal bars and flats, and saltwater marshes and range from south Texas to the Florida panhandle.
4 state or coastal offices
71 chapters
118,000 members
94 staff
19 nature centers and sanctuaries
5 states participating in coastal stewardship programs
641 coastal stewardship and Audubon coastal bird survey sites
Black Skimmers. Photo: Bob Howdeshell/Great Backyard Bird Count
A new bill in Congress would restore longstanding protections to the Refuge.
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Red-bellied Woodpecker 
